James Proposes oneshot
by ceexotter
Summary: Lily and James have been dating for a while now and James finally proposes.


Lily Evans and James Potter sat on a bench in a little park just outside of London. They both needed a break from their day-to-day lives and chose a meeting place to spend some time together. James reached for Lily's hand and gave it a little squeeze. Lily looked down at their linked fingers, smiled briefly, and looked away.

"What's wrong, Lily, love?" he asked her.

"We've been dating for a long time, James," she replied without really answering the question.

"Almost two years." He frowned. "Is there something wrong? Have I done something to make you unhappy?"

"No, no!" she said, hastily. "You're wonderful to me. I love you."

"I love you, too. But why do you look so upset?"

She sighed and looked at his face. "You could have had anyone in the world. So many girls have pined over you during all the years I've known you. Girls at school, girls at the office, girls that don't even know who you are. Look around James, every girl here is staring at you as they walk by."

He glanced around and sure enough, four or five girls were glancing his way from various places in the park. He frowned again and ran his hand nervously through his hair. "I don't understand, Lils. I love you. What does it matter that other girls stare?"

"Why did you choose me? You could have chased after any other girl at school, but instead you chased after me. Your family is wealthy and mine isn't. You-"

He put one of his fingers on her lips, cutting her off. "Lily, I love you. Why don't you get that? Money doesn't matter. I'm not one of those stuck up people who only marries for money. Don't you know that by now?"

"I just see all these beautiful girls staring at you and I can't help but wonder why you pick me."

"Why did I pick you? Do you really want to know?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"Okay then. The first moment I saw you, I loved you. Right then and there. I loved you as much as an eleven-year-old could. The other guys teased me for saying that, but I never gave up. During our school years, I tried to get your attention in any way possible. I teased you. I tried to show you that I loved you, but you wouldn't listen. You insisted that I wasn't serious and that it was only a joke. Do you know what that did to me? It made me want you more. It made me crazy for you. As we watched each other grow up, I figured out what attracted me to you most. _Everything. _Your hair. Your eyes. Your smile. Your _smell._" He buried his head in her neck, breathing in the sent of her skin with a smile.

She sat with an awe-struck smile on her face, unsure of what to say.

"Lily, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I have never, ever wanted any other girl."

He had told her this many times, but she never truly believed it. "Really, James? You've dated so many other girls."

"Don't you see, Lily? I dated those girls to make you jealous. I was only with other girls to try to make you want me. But why does that matter now? I love you and no one else." He leaned up and kissed her gently in the center of her forehead.

She smiled. "I love you, too, James."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. They situated themselves so she could lean her head on his shoulder, and he could rest his head on top of hers.

"James?"

"Yes, love?"

"All those years I refused to be with you...Why didn't you ever give up on me?"

"I knew you would come around eventually." He smirked and added, "No one can resist a Potter."

She giggled and smacked his arm, playfully. "James Potter, you are so full of yourself."

"Lily Evans, you are so full of me, too."

"Maybe I am, but at least I'm not full of myself."

He laughed and kissed the side of her head. "So, are you okay now?"

"I guess so," she said, looking down at their intertwined fingers resting on her leg.

"You don't sound so sure. What else would you like me to tell you? Explain why I love you?"

"James, I don't even know why I'm doubting you. I know you love me, no matter what."

"If you know that, then why are you so upset?"

She sighed again. "I have no idea. I guess I feel like you're too perfect for me. You've always been the perfect boyfriend. You've never hurt me on purpose." Her mind flashed to all those times that he had been with another girl. She had never told him, but every time she saw him with those girls, her heart had ached. His jealously trick had worked, though she wouldn't admit it. "I just don't feel like I deserve someone like you."

He moved so that he was kneeling in front of the bench they were seated on, taking both of her hands in his. "Lily," he said firmly, looking her squarely in her eyes. "You feel like you don't deserve me? Try I don't feel like I deserve you. You're beautiful and smart and funny and kind. You keep talking about all the girls that pined over me during school, but you fail to mention all the boys who chased after you."

She stared back into his eyes, not moving a muscle.

"Practically every boy who ever talked to you wanted you. All the boys who went on dates with you. I never thought you would fall for any of them. Then there was a point in time when I thought that I had lost you forever, Lils." She knew exactly when he was talking about. "When you were dating Max, I was heart broken. I couldn't believe that another boy had won your affection. The guys kept trying to cheer me up. They told me that there were other fish in the sea, that there were other girls out there. Sure, I agreed with them, but I couldn't bring myself to let you go. All those months you spent with him, I was devastated. I thought that you were going to be with him forever. You loved him so much."

She blushed, not wanting to think of the fifteen months she had spent with Max at all.

"When I heard he was cheating on you, when he broke your heart, I wanted to kill him. But I couldn't leave you alone. I held you and stroked your hair. I couldn't bear to see you cry. You were so broken, and you let me pick up the pieces. That's when I knew I had a chance with you. You let me get you back on your feet. Then, suddenly, you didn't want to be seen with me again."

She felt her eyes fell with tears. She was ashamed of what she had done three years ago. She pushed him away after he helped her when she needed someone the most. A single tear rolled down her cheek. His hand automatically moved to wipe it away.

"But you warmed up to me. You figured out that I was done being a jerk and that I really did love you. It wasn't a joke. You saw that I wasn't going to hurt you. You saw that I wasn't going to do what Max did to you. Lily, you knew I had grown up."

She nodded, "I knew that your affection for me was real."

"Its always been real. Not one day has passed since we were eleven that I didn't love you. And now I know that not one day will ever pass that I won't love you."

He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out a square, velvet box from his pocket.

"Lily Evans, if I lost you again, I don't know what I would do. I can't live without you."

She gasped as he opened the box, revealing an elegant diamond ring.

He smiled at her. "Will you marry me?"

She squealed happily, throwing her arms around his neck. "Yes. James, yes!"

He laughed, unhooking her arms from his neck. He grabbed her left hand and slid the ring onto her third finger.

She held her hand out and admired the ring. "Oh, James, its beautiful."

"I know you are."

She giggled, and before he could say anything else, she pressed her lips against his.


End file.
